Are Expensive Church Buildings Really Necessary?

There seems to be a competition between churches, some building churches with billions of naira, some hundreds of millions of naira, is that what serving God all about, do we need all need to worship God?

Even the Mosque, I thought a place of worship is just to house us and the instrument while we praise and worship God, why do we have to spend such money, when some of the people that donate to the church are still living in a face me face you units?

why should people be building big expensive churches when most of thier congregation are struggling to eat two square meals a day? It dosen't make sense. Churches should spend more money on thier congregation who r human beings and less money on thier Church buildings which is just blocks and cement.

I have been Church Hopping for most all my life. Church is not like that at all unless people make it that way. People go through friends and jobs like it is no man's business. Paul and the others did not ALWAYS fellowship with the same group all through their ministry so why do we then make church into what it is not supposed to be?? Where you plant roots even when the soil is, for you, bad?? Like I said earlier and have been saying all this while, there is NO WAY TO DO silly AND CLAIM IT IS FOR GOD. Going Back to the same woman or Man that you know BURNS you each time is nothing but silly Moves. YOu plant seed and grow root where you know the soil is good for you, not just cause you want to get a root. Those are two different things.

Wisdom has already been given, I believe it is time people start APPLYING IT instead of BLAMING pastors and OTHERS for duping them when they themselves have CHOICES. I mean there are people who are able to plant root in those same places and flourish but If the ground does not grow you, MOVE ON!!

YOU can tell I am really passionate about this. I believe people like to CAST BLAME INSTEAD OF them standing up to do the right thing. I am an advocate for people to CHOOSE to use their GOD GIVEN BRAINS MORE OFTEN than not, and DOing the right thing no matter what. Not Complain when others in the same situation are not and then feel they have the ULTIMATE TRUTH for that situation.

I think for the first time, i agree with you, you talked sense, although, it is hard for pple to be uprooting themselves from churches to churches, cos it is like planting a tree, you plant the tree and after 2 months, you realize, not growing well on tha soil, and you took it out and replant somewhere else, it will come a time, that the tree will die, anyhow, i pray that God will give wisdom to pple to be able to do the right thing at the right time.

Like I said earlier myself, PEOPLE who continue to stay and allow themselves be hammered everyweek like that either LIKE BEING HAMMERED THAT WAY and LIKE GIVING, OR, THEY ARE FOOLS and NEED to GROW WISE, and If it is not the pastor doing it to them, it will be the people out there. So NO NEED to continue BLAMING the Pastor for the Stupidity of the few, BLAME THE FEW who keep COMING BACK EVERY SUNDAY AND GO OUT COMPLAINING and then COME BACK Again the Next Sunday, There is a REASON why God's word is not against many churches, it is so people can easily walk out on one church that they do not get what they need from and walk into another church where they are more comfortable in. Same thing with Schools and Banks Even , THE PASTORS are not to blame, actually it is the Foolishness of these sort of people that fuel the increase in number of fake pastors and as a consequence, corruption INCREASES in the country and before LORD OF THE FLIES OVER THERE DECIDES TO JUMP on me again for pointing out the silly actions of people who act stupidly and claim it is in the name of God, READ WHAT I TYPED PLEASE,

Like i said, there is nothing wrong in people giving, however, it would be nice if the pastor could stop that kinda 'u are doomed if you dont help build the house of God" if it is preached once, it is all good, but to hammer them in da head daily about it, i think that is not fair.

There are churches that will tell their members to go and get a loan at the bank, all cos they wanna build a "be-fitting' home for God, and then, when they are not able to pay back the loan, who is on da rope?

Do you realize that you made a mistake there by trying to tell the pastors what to preach instead? Your EGO flaring up again?? It is in the Bible that if you do not give God will take it by force from you, have you ever read the very bible you claim supports your stance in this?? It is in the Bible , all over too. And another, no where in the Bible are pastors asked to check the hearts of people before they collect from them. Now if a pastor knew a questionable character, sure, but to basically check the intensions of all who give, you have to be joking there.

Why do you care so much what people do with their money though or what pastor they CHOOSE to give it?? were you burned by a pastor or something ?? @Rhino, I mean it sounds like you have some experience of giving with a non-pure heart and were not satisfied by what the money was eventually used for, pray tell, I mean all this needs to come from some pit deep in you and we would sure love to hear the story behind this so we can better analyse the situation , don't you think ??

rare, u need to read your bible better and understand, that no man now, nor then, has more wisdom that solomon, and if you read further, the bible said that God gave him wealth, solomon was the man that when others were making offerings to God, he mad instead of one, 1,000 offerings, so he was a blessed man, when it comes to money, he has it, and he has the wisdom too, so both melt together, my guy, will bring forth the best.

Please, don't get me wrong, i am not saying it is wrong to get donation from the church members, all i am saying is that, there are some church members that even needed the help of the church finacially, and when those pple approach the pastor for help, they will be told how Job went thru the tribulation and came out a better man, and no help will come forth, but prayers, sometimes, it is not about prayers from the pastor, but a physical help could do some good.

The church needs to be watchful of who they get donation from, let pple have personal conviction and dont try to preach the "if you dont give, God will take it by force" kinda preaching, cos God is not such a God, let people give freely from their own heart, cos our destination seems to be tied to our giving.

the question is what then is the solution? you cannot castigate without proffering solution to it, as for $$rhinno solomon did not have to beg the congregation for the money but i want to ask where then did the money come from, is it not his subjects? why are we always like this, yes i agree some pastors are selfish no doubt but that does not mean the church will not have shelter, so if they need that they must do it excellently.

[i]ME I SUBSCRIBE TO EXCELLENCE IN THE THINGS OF GOD, BOTH IN THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE AND WHERE I WORSHIP MY GOD

What is 'extravagant' to some people is only relative to others - and that is why I used the word 'beautiful'. I don't suppose that the example you gave earlier was 'cheap' by any standard; rather we have measured it by some contrasting yardstick to assume that it was not 'expensive'.

If the topic is dealing with 'expensive church buildings', we would have to concede that we all incur great expenses in any building project to that end. If it's a matter of whether or not we could 'afford' it, it still brings us back to same thing: it is expensive - relative to a contrasting measuring assumption.

dont think building expensive churches is bad. The church shud be an icon to everyone in all ramifications. besides go to europe today and see all the century-old churches and cathedrals. they wouuldnt have been standin today-centuries after if they were shabily or averagely built. just go to rome alone and you'll be greatlyhumbled. churches were built with the best there was. also, solomon built the greatest temple ever as at his time for God. God didnt refuse or reject the temple. heaven is beautiful and God has taste. He wont mind. So far the churches are genuine and so on

you will have you give me your reason why you think those two you mentioned there qualify to be called silly in anyway, cause I completely miss your point and from what you posted there, it seems you are one of those who picks a statement made and runs off with it without spending time to understand the context in which it was made. Are you sure you even have a case here and are not arguing stupidly here?? Cause it would seem so to me as I have no idea what in the world you are going on about.

The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs, Mark 7 vs 26 to 29

1 Corinthians 15:36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:

1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

In order not to turn this into an argument, I must clearly state that I am not against a decent church but an expensive church is unnecessary.

If God has blessed you so much that you deem it necessary to build a big church, build it, there are blessings that go with it. Canaan land of Winners' Chapel for example was built because the people realised that it will be better not to constitute nuisance in the name of worshipping God by blocking the roads impassable for the commuters. For those familiar with their location at Raji Oba, it was obvious it could no longer contain the worshippers. Is Canaan land expensive? No. The leader minimised the cost as much as it was possible, no foreign expatriate was used throughout the duration of the project (100% Nigerian Content), there are no sophisticated and extravagant decorations, no split ACs in the auditorium. Could they afford it? Yes! But they have made a choice to rather affect their world than invest in trivialities.

Whatever you may have to say about the church, they stand out clearly as a church who understands that extravagance displayed by expensive churches can only be for self aggrandisement. For all of you who probably know the Bible more than I do, did we not read that we should do all things in moderation.

I hear - and that is the example that every other Christian should begin locking themselves up in the toilet?

I think that it is important that we learn to understand what appertains to public worship or gathering of the saints. God answers our prayers anywhere we lift up our voices to Him - and some of the finest saints of the Lord have been in worse places lifting their voices to Him in prayer: Paul and Silas in prison; Daniel in the lion's den; some others in captivity; and again Jeremiah in the sewage pit. Can we keep up this argument that "God doesn't care" about where His people gather together to worship Him?

He cares, my dear friend, He cares.

I've been involved in missionary work of sorts - and so many things we've heard about some saints of God will simply put us to shame. I once knew a Christian woman who was beaten mercilessly for weeks; but after she was released by her captors, she was hardly out of the hospital before she asked us to pray that she wanted to go back to the very place where she was tortured - her heart yearned for the children in the dreaded place. Most of us in tears could not dare express her boldness - and yet, God has shown us marvelous things from her testimony.

But what about those who are not in war zones - should we make one before we "prove" that God doesn't really care about the locations where we gather? Have you asked yourself how people in war-torn regoins can afford to hold regular church services in chaos - the Lord's Supper, Bible Study, etc? Those of us who are not in war-ridden areas should be thankful that we have the freedom to worship and seek His face; and as much as we have that freedom, what is holding us back from expressing His loveliness in decent environments? Are we waiting for the latrines just to "prove" a needless point?

If that was a question, the answer will simply be that it doesn't matter. You perhaps have heard of testimonies of people who have locked themselves up in toilet just to take time out to pray. And did God answer them? Yes!

It will be nice to have some missionaries narate their experiences, then you will appreciate that it doesn't really matter. Needless to say that it's because you have peace that you are looking for a decent place before you can serve God, those at war will definitely worship God without minding the location - graveyard or wherever

I think it helps to be careful about the inferences we make when reading the Bible. If God was not interesting in the places where we gather together to worship Him, then it would not matter that people gather at a graveyard or public toilet to do the same, abi? Make we be careful.

God is indeed interested in both our bodies as His Temple; but He is also interested in the thoughts of our hearts that tend to excellent things as regards our worship to Him. This is why we read in such verses as Rom. 12:2 that we "may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" - and as we prayerfully consider this matter, we understand that it is "good and acceptable" that Christians seek to care enough that the places where we gather for worship befit His glory.

It will appear you know both the written and unwritten words of God. I just want to cite 2 instances and you can go ahead and fill in the gap whether or not they were called foolish, silly or whatever.

1. The poor widow who was about eating the last meal before meeting the prophet

2. Lazarus the poor servant

Fortunately, God is not man, that is why he will confound the wisdom of men with the foolishness of the world.

@mekaboy

It may interest you to know that God ever since He has sent His son Jesus Christ to the world, is not interested in houses made by men but that made of men. And that is why you cannot beat Him, He is God. I say this with all the emphasis I can muster, the church you build does not affect God, it just helps the ego of the people who built it.

the funny thing is these aggressive givers always say spiritual things are not understood by everyone but always use mundane physical things ( a rich man building a fine house so a church must follow) to justify their actions.

It is a sad thing our country is being ruled by a bunch of hungry bandits but its even more unfortunate that the people that are supposed to help our people are not concerned rather they want to get rich and famous off the backs of these same poor people.

I wish this continuous Molesting of our people by the govt and religious leaders will stop.

The thread still remains; are expensive buildings necessary? and i still say HELL NO!!!!! there are more important things to do with money that 'tushing up' an already fancv building just because the one next door is finer.

ow11, well said, i seem to think that most of our pple now thinks that they could go out there and do their silly stuff, like 419 and armed robbery and even fraud, and then go to church and bribe God, there are some giving that is nothing but a waste of time, and that is why the bible said, that many shall say on da last day, we perform miracle in ya name, but will tell them to go away from him, workers of iniquity, pple will give big money at church and yet their heart and mind is so terrible, how do you explain someone with huge donation at school and yet has unclean heart, cant help his fellow members to be someone in life, Jesus, said, when he was hungry, no one fed, him and when he was told to explain, he said, as long as you aint doing this to my pple, you are not doing it for me, walk da street of lagos, and you will see so much 6 year old, selling pure waters and yet some churches are building massive building with elevators? pls, what a waste of money, how many floor do a church has that requires an elevator, 2 floors? Infact, God will have a lot to judge

God and humans don't need the same thing. God doesn't need a fancy house to impress Him. He owns everything. The senators are on poverty alleviation and need those things to make them happy. God is happy when you give him your heart. It is a great waste if you build a mighty structure and don't have Him in your heart.

I stayed away from using the very words used for such in the Bible , FOOLS , remember?? Cause of people like you who like to take what is said and turn it around to mean what it does not. Have you read the Bible lately?? @Femi , It does point out that people who are that way are fools and wicked and more, Jesus came for them does not negate the FACT That anyone who does such is FOOLISH and hence considered a FOOL, Maybe it is not the word that is the problem but your idea of how to apply it. Stop being afraid of words you ought not to be afraid of and focus on the ones you should be ,

It's very unfortunate that you have decided to use such a derogatory word as 'silly" for the people whom God has SOLELY come for. I think that reveals a flaw in the manner you think about fellow christians. So then, where is the love. Jesus Christ came for those you have described as weak-minded and perennially silly.

I encourage people to give freely for anything to promote the work of God but God cannot be helped, rather than trying to help God, he is our helper. Remember the bible record of the man who tried in assisting God by helping in preventing the ark from falling. Our church building does not in anyway bring him up or down, remember he is the God that does not change. God when on earth expressed his mind when he said: it is His meat (work) to do the will of his father and that is to bring more souls to God.

It is good to give to the Lord for any purpose at all but it will be better if you really know what God wants from you. If you have read the Bible very well, you will realise where God places the premium the most.

Modern day Christians have deviated from the original concept of the CHURCH (people not buildings) and unless we go back to the basics, we will continue to have this problems until the LORD comes. The truth is that the early church never build cathedrals or so called buildings because "where two or three are gathered in HIS name, HE is there in there midst". The early church meet in homes to have fellowship with GOD and themselves. That is why you read people like Paul saying greet so and so and the church that meet in their homes. If we follow after the early church we will not have the problem of someone fighting over any edifice.

The main is this. God makes no provisions for weak minded people to continue in their stupidity. If a person however wants to go for a pastor with such a big dream there is actually nothing against it. It is not illegal or immoral to want to worship and give to a big church or to build a bigger church. For the weak minded people who continually blame pastors for duping them and stuff, if it is not the pastor someone else will eventually do it to them anyways. It is like the 419 practice, if a man does not know how to guard his money, if not peter it will be paul that will get his money until that man learns to be wiser. So in the end, there are pastors with genuine dreams and people who do not mind contributing to those dreams and there will be the wolves in sheeps clothing , you find those even in your every family, even amongst your own siblings. My talk is that if a person finds it is necessary for him to contribute to a bigger church dream, it is necessary. If a person feels cajoled into supporting such a dream, I question the persons stand with God and even the persons maturity level. If a person feels to contribute and then blame the pastor, I say the person should be reprimanded for his or her stupidity. Blaming the pastor will not solve that persons case cause if it is not the pastor, it could be the door sales man that will get to that person one way or another.

As a society and a people, we need to stop blaming the wrong people for our problems. Even in the bible we are called to look within.

If a church has rich businessmen and the businessmen decide to give no problem! my stand is for those people who can't afford to donate but are still milked. its like get the cash from anywhere we must build a big church like winners'.

thats why no pastor can ever refuse a donation from a commisioner even though the pastor knows a commisioners' salary cannot afford him the luxury of donating millions. he will rather encourage the member to steal government funds because he is giving to God. its shameful!

We need to get something right, there is a difference between a big church and an expensive church. For an illustration, a church with a congregation of 1,000 people will logically need more space and consequently more money to build a church than that with a 20-man congregation. But when a 20-man congregation church now builds a church that cost even more than that which is required for 1000-man congregation church, then it is expensive.

For the person who gave the example of Winners' Chapel Calabar - I do not really know about that particualar church but if it is the standard of most of the Winner Chapel (Lagos, PH, Ibadan, Ilorin) then it is not an expensive church. As a matter of fact, anything a little less than that would have made mockery of christianity. I have attended the RCCG Camp and I don't think it falls in the category of an expensive church.

The problem is when a church decides to class itself such that it becomes inaccessible to all, then it is bad. You can have a club for rich people, an estate for rich people but a church of Gosd is for all. so if the church is built in such a way that the only time they see the poor is when they want to give handouts to some selected beneficiaries in motherless homes, prisons etc., then it is not a church.

Even God knows that there will always be the poor among us and that is why in constructing the earth, he didn't construct another earth for the poor.

well u seem not to get me,am saying that y would u play on peoples emotions,y dont u just say this aint gonna be a charitable org cos u got to maintain a standard hmmm.dats my grouse.u tell peeps that they are gonna be the biggest beneficiaries and then turn around and do something else.

well,mama lagbaja has since moved on to another church that has not perfected the art of double speak and suits his spiritual needs.

lemme make something pretty clear, i am not against big churches, and churched that cld afford it, all the thread was about is why would the church be preaching to make pple feel bad about giving and givng all in da name of building a better befiting home for God, when God isnt complaining about the one they presently have, and that make some members of the church to even go and do anything so that they could contribute as well.

If the church has the funds like Catholic and Anglican, kudos to them, however, if the church dont have the funds and member of the church is not conmfortable to afford such, let them be, dont use the preaching to send them on a guilty trip all cos you want them to give.

God is more intrested in our heart and not the house build with muds and mortar

yes i know that God is not really interested in you building expensive edifice but to a point he appreciate it. you know solomon built the lord a temple and have not seen a preacher in this world that as spent that much in building a church. 1 kings 6 vs 11-13."Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: 12 “Concerning this Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father, David. 13 I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon my people Israel.”

Dis was what God told solomon when he was building the temple of God, if God does not appreciate that he won't promise solomon that.

1 kings 6 vs 20-33.

"20 This inner sanctuary was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar.* 21 Then Solomon overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made gold chains to protect the entrance* to the Most Holy Place. 22 So he finished overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged to the Most Holy Place.

23 He made two cherubim of wild olive* wood, each 15 feet* tall, and placed them in the inner sanctuary. 24 The wingspan of each of the cherubim was 15 feet, each wing being 7½ feet* long. 25 The two cherubim were identical in shape and size; 26 each was 15 feet tall. 27 He placed them side by side in the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from wall to wall, while their inner wings touched at the center of the room. 28 He overlaid the two cherubim with gold.

29 He decorated all the walls of the inner sanctuary and the main room with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. 30 He overlaid the floor in both rooms with gold.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, he made double doors of wild olive wood with five-sided doorposts.* 32 These double doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. The doors, including the decorations of cherubim and palm trees, were overlaid with gold.

33 Then he made four-sided doorposts of wild olive wood for the entrance to the Temple. 34 There were two folding doors of cypress wood, and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself. 35 These doors were decorated with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers—all overlaid evenly with gold.

solomon used PURE GOLD to decorate the house of God, and i think that is much more expensive.When u place great value on God you can do anything for him.Sometimes we need to check the motive behind our expensive church buildings sometimes the motive behind it is bad

I can actually tell you that @Seun , but note that I am still waiting for you to show me details, something about these many claims you have been making so far about these many churches you have accused. Actually, you do not have to hear the people complain at all for you to put yourself in as their lawyers when they do not necessarily need one so your premise there is pretty faulty.

And my friend, here is advice from the elders, let the person with the issue deal with his own problem IF HE HAS ONE, not you make yourself his mouth piece when you were not directly involved in the first place. LAGOS WISDOM THERE FOR YOU!!

Anywho, from what you just layed out, it seems you do not realize what really goes in to running schools and what the church actually does in those schools. I am saying considering the fact that you do not realize that the little maths I gave you there shows that there is no way for the school to work on the donation of only 3000 IF there are 8000 kids to tend to, teachers to pay, facilities to build, ongoing bills such as utility bills ( electricity, water, gas, phone, gas, internet etc ) , rental payments should they choose to rent equipments, money for paper , books and so many other things to deal with. Come on @Seun

I say you research cost of running a school and you might come up with why people attend schools like harvard that charge 45K each year and other schools charge about 12k a year. For your information, it was like this that schools like Harvard were actually established, Harvard, cambridge and some of the other Ivey league schools we have today started off this way with congregations building schools and then before they knew it, it was bigger than them. Research the history a bit. But that aside, my point is, it is apparent that the people who give the money give of a free heart else I see no reason why they should in the first place. I attend a big church, I can't put my niece through the school run by the church but I have no complaints at all since I have seen the school and even I know it is worth it and intend some day to get myself her in there when things are more condusive.

i also do know of a church that turned its congregation into labourers,mind u,the labourers are people that have been told will get a place for their children once the school is completed.only to turn around and price it higher than their reach leaving them disillusioned.

this peeps gave all they could muster including becoming a labourer just to actualise the dream.is this supposed to be an ego thing or a for profit organisation?theres no way u can tell me pricing it that high is because of teachers/lecturers because this same lecturers would have been brainwashed into taking a lesser amount than normal because they are doing it for 'GOD' and their reward is in heaven.

@Well Seun. Again I ask you, is Mama Lagbaja complaining or are you trying to make yourself mama lagbaja's mouth piece when mama lagbaja did not ask for one? I actually know of a church with a school and you know what? the parents can volunteer at the school to and get credit that go towards paying their kids fees at the church school. and many parents like being able to come in 3 hours a week to their kids school to see what is going on. Mind you not all persons who go to BIG CHURCHES actually donate money. Now factor that in and tell me what you propose the church should instead? Here is the thing,

in your case, let us work with a scenario where a church has 5000 people , and opens a school

about 3000 of those church goers Donate the Church projects. The other 2000 come in to worship and do not participate in anyway. Basically, they do not hear the call to give or something . Anyways, this Church now opens a school to help provide QUALITY education to students. Now for this Quality education to be available, QuALITY Teachers need to be hired, QUALITY facilities need to be constructed and QUALITY bills need to be spent to Maintain and keep this QUALITY school running. Now, the school takes in 8000 Students, of the 8000, say, 4000 of them belong to the 3000 church members who actually DONATE to this cause and about 2000 belong to the 2000 people who do not even contribute to the cause of the church or the school. Now we have only space for 2000 students from non-church members.

Where do you expect the FREE money to come from? I mean to cater to 8000 children with the money donated by only 3000, is that what you want instead?? I am sure this is not the full as I am working but I could go on to give you more detail of how it works in a few if you need me to.@Seun

look,am not bothered if u build a house of gold or wot nots,i have a personal relationship with God and i care less wot other peeps do with theirs.

if u would notice i wasnt really interested in the topic but for your comments regarding a church building a university using funds and maanpower of the church then pricing it above the average member of the same church.my grouse was that all the churches did exactly that then u said u wanted proof abi?

No WHERE did CGift Say anything about a good looking Church having ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE STATE OF THE HEART though @BackSlider, Why do you KEEP going back to that when you have ABSOLUTELY NO BIBLE PROOF linking the State of the Heart to be in reverse to the STATE OF THE BUILDING here @BackSlider

Do you mind Stick to one straight please, Let us all please STop playing the GOD IS ON MY SIDE CARD and deal with this as is,

Dont get worried on this matter. Let them Build but they know why they and who owns the temple.

@Cgift

If looking Good makes a Good Christian then we don't need Christ. Christ was poor according to the standard of today.

How?

He did not have a house

He did not have a Chariot and did not ride on a Horse

he walked on Foot.

It was that he could not live an expensive life He choose to be available for us sinners.

But according to his standard he was sufficient he wasnt poor. There was a time there was no food for the people( was it the best ? No) He provided for them.

The Word of God was the focus of Jesus Christ ministry.

Should we then not have a safe place of worship? No on the contrary we should have a place of worship but we must focus On God dwelling in us. The two are important.

The house of God should be a house where Holiness is Exhorted. If a man is not properly dressed and you have extra share with him.

But the churches today are trying to outdo themselves, it is as if there fashion Parade "so that I can show the world how God has blessed me" meanwhile they stole the money from the government coffers to buy this and pay tithe.

From their pay there is no thought of the poor. When the show their "rehearsed Kindness in public they do it with the pride that only can be found in the heart of the devil"

There is no PERSONAL ACTS OF KINDNESS DONE IN SECRET. IT IS ALL FOR SHOW!

Do not even start with the " You are not presently in Naija THEREFORE You do not know anything about NAIJA" CRAP, That is the BIGGEST excuse used by many to claim it is ok to continue with their way. I happen to know a lot about and actually live and travel back and forth. So I beg you try another line and not that one you are trying to go for. I know persons in who attend many of those big churches, infact I frequent some of those here and even back there myself. So to conclude that everyone in naija sees things through your own eyes would be the biggest mistake for your argument. Please focus and tell me what proof you have. I mean this is like presenting a case in court. Do you go to the judge and say because I think it is this and that even though I do not have solid papers to show that the money is being squandered, I am still right ??

We live in a civilized world. I would think and if you want to level a claim against another, the most civil and righteous thing to do would be to provide proof or back down or better yet accept you have nothing but bad mouthing to do and that is ok too. That is the way I see all these things. Infact, I would think Nigerian History alone in the past 3 decades would have at least taught us all that all is not always as it seems and that just cause we think things are one way does not mean it is necessarily so. We of all people should know that. Why then is this case or any other exempt?? Again LET THE PEOPLE/PASTORS have what they want Since they can afford to have it.